Maza S1-3

The coastal city of Mombasa is known for many things, including its embracing of the supernatural – something that Swahili telenovela Maza isn’t scared to explore.

Released in 2018, Maza follows Angie Magio in the role of Kate, a woman whose envy gets the better of her: she turns her best friend into a cat – not just any cat but the family cat – just so she could steal her life.

It’s a role that earned Magio a Kalasha Awards nomination for Best Actress in 2018, alongside Selina’s Celestine Gachuhi and Sue na Jonnie’s Catherine Kamau, and one that has made her one of the best TV villains to ever come out of Kenya.

Maza is produced by TV journalist Lulu Hassan and her husband, Rashid Abdallah, through their production company Jiffy Pictures. They’re also responsible for other Swahili hits like Tanzanian drama series Huba, Aziza, Moyo, and most recently Maria.

Hassan has said in a previous interview that Swahili shows like Maza give the Kenyan audience stories they can think of as their own. “I felt that there was a gap in our stories and I knew Maza was the kind of show that the audience wanted to see on air.”